Traveler for transportation of tree trunks and like loads



Aug. 11, 1953 PILET 2,648,443

TRAVELER FOR TRANSPORTATION OF TREE TRUNKS AND LIKE LOADS Filed March 28, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1 Fig.1

INVENTOR EUG5"! 1 LET Aug. 11, 1953 PILET TRAVELER FOR TRANSPORTATION OF TREE TRUNKS AND LIKE LOADS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 28, 1950 Patented Aug. 11, 1953 TRAVELER FOR TRANSPORTATION OF TREE TRUNKS AND LIKE LOADS Eugen Pilet, Wimmis, Switzerland Application March 28 In Switzerland 6 Claims. 1

My invention has for its object a cableway provided with a sloping carrying rope for the transportation of tree trunks and the like. The carrying rope of said cableway that is tensioned between 9. high point and a loading point on a road or a railway track carries a traveller that is designed in a manner such that a tree trunk or the like load may be raised through the traction cable of the cableway up to said traveller and, as soon as the load has reached its uppermost position, the traveller is set free and may be drawn upwardly through the same traction cable over the carrying rope or else it may be allowed to sink on the latter down to the loading station. To this purpose, there is provided an automatic control in the traveller according to which the load is raised or transported towards the loading station, the automatic operation being controlled through the traction cable. This allows a considerable reduction in the time involved and in the labor required. It has already been proposed to provide in a cableway for the traction cable to raise and lower the load and also to ensure control. In such prior cableways, it is necessary to shift, for instance before transportation of the load, a special positioning apparatus over the carrying rope into the desired position and said positioning apparatus has to be clamped to the carrying rope through the agency of a special retaining cable. The present new cableway requires, on the contrary, no positioning apparatus and no auxiliary retaining cable and is consequently much simpler.

I have illustrated by way of example in accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment of my improved cableway. In said drawings:

Fig. 1 illustrates the traveller in side view.

Fig. 2 is a cross section through said traveller carriage through line II--II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the traveller with its cradle in its tilted position.

Fig. 4 is a view of a modification of the centrifugal weight, forming part of the control means.

Fig. 5 is a cross section on enlarged scale taken on line V-V of Fig. 1.

It will be appreciated that the position in which the Figures 1 and 3 appear in the drawing is not their position in actual use.

The carrying rope I is secured at its lower end in the immedaite vicinity of the loading station in order to allow the transfer of the load onto a truck or onto a railway car. The other end of the carrying rope is anchored in ground for instance on the mountain side in a manner such 1950, Serial No. 152,306 February 28, 1949 that said rope may be directed obliquely downwardly towards the loading station. The carrying rope may advantageously be tensioned over a gorge or deep valley that is not within easy reach and out of which tree trunks for instance are removed and easily and rapidly transported to the loading station. It is also possible for instance to provide for the transportation of ore or the like mineral products from the mountains down to the point at which they are to be worked. There is provided at the upper securing point of the carrying cable a load-controlling winch. The traveller 2 is adapted to run along the carrying rope through the agency of its four wheels 3; these wheels 3 are preferably vertically adjustable so that it is possible to move them inv accordance with the curve assumed by the suspended rope and consequently to distribute uniformly the load over the four wheels. These four wheels 3 are mounted inside a carrier member 4 made of sheet iron folded into the shape of a hook. To the front side of the traveller, there: is secured to the carrier member 4 a further lower carrier member 5 through the agency of bolts 6. The two carrier members 4 and 5 are outwardly folded along their lower edges and open after the manner of a hopper at 33 on the side facing the loading station. A cradle 1 is rockably secured between said carrier members 4 and 5. Said cradle is constituted by two cradle plates 8 the upper edges of which are folded at right angles so as to form running surfaces for rollers 20 to be described hereinafter. Carrier studs 9 are welded transversally to said cradle plates 8. Said studs 9 are pivotally carried in the reinforcements l 6 welded to the carrier members or plates 4 and 5. To the front free ends of the carrier studs 9 are secured through the agency of screws two sectors II to which may be adjustably secured centrifugal masses !2. These sectors l I form thus centrifugal masses and their object is to throw the cradle 1 from the position illustrated in Fig. 1 into the position illustrated in Fig. 3. On the inner side of the carrier members 4 and 5 are secured two arcuate stops I4. The cradle l is bent at this point in a manner such that it may easily move over said stops. The cradle l is provided with a stop [3 at its free end projecting beyond the actual traveller. The cradle is also provided at its other end with a pin l5 that is connected to the connecting rod I! which is pivotally secured to the brake lever I8 through an adjustable point of its length.

The brake lever I6 is pivotally secured to both carrier members 4 and 5 through the agency of the pin 18. The brake shoe I9 is pivotally secured to the brake lever [B and its wedging action is adapted to clamp the traveller through said brake shoe to the carrying rope I for it to be held securely in the position considered.

To the cradle l is shiftably suspended the load carrier through the agency of the rollers 20. The load carrier is associated with a support 2| pro:- vided at its upperend with a catch 22. The two rollers 20 are secured to either side of said support through the agency of a pivot. At the lower' end of the carrier 2| is revolubly-carriedaroller 23 for the traction cable 24, adapted tde lide the; said traction cable. To the catch 22 is pivotally secured a control rod 25 that is prov-idedat-its lower end with a control ring; 26'. reinforcedqbymeans of a semi-circular conical member 21; The; support '2! is further provided at its lower end with two projections 23 to which are pivotally secured two carrier catches 29. The two carrier catches 2.3.- are connected through asspring that: is not illustrated andgthat urges the two catches 29 away fromone another-,- that: is, into-the rela: tive; positionillustrated-in Fig; 2. The end-cf the traction; cable, 2. 3: carries, a= conical weight 30.. carrying initsturnlthecarrier ring Sltowhich a treetrunkaor. thelilte load-:isto bev secured.-

In order to reduce theweig-ht of the-centrifugal mass while ensuring, however, itsproperopera tion, it is possible, asshownin Fig.- 4, to connect the oscillatingmass-siii toei-ther side-f thecarrier'mem bers 41-: andlr; withzasystemof leversconnected; with the cradlel'; the. lengths of the leyeri armsbeing selected-111a manner such that theforcedeveloped'. by. the centrifugal mass 31 l act in aniamplified manner on' the cradle 1. To the. projectingdree ends .of .the carrier studs 9"- are. secured atwo lever. arms 3 d through-the agency OE SCl'eVVS; said iever arms being connectedwiththe connecting rods 35.; and through them 'with the two..arm: levers. 3B,: the: outer -ends-of which carry .adjustab'ly the actual centrifugal masses-3'l. These; two-arm-levers -36 flare pivotall-ysecured to the bolt-Si engaging .the carrier=memb'ers-4'and' 5; threads: and their lengths may consequently be adjusted througlrcooperation with corresponding tapped-tubular members acting as-nutsan-d' engaging; said. :ti'n'eads.- One arm of the lever 36 carrying the centrifugal masses 3T-is several times longer than: the other armengaging" the connecting-.i'Oci-65'ii Byreason of this multiplication-- ofciorces, thecentrifugal masses ill mayexerta greater force on the-connecting rod 35 and corrsequently: on the" cradle l. centrifugal masses 31 is again to urge the cradle" 3 from: the position illustrated in Figs. l and 4 intothe position illustrated in- Fig. 3.-

The cableway described operates asfollows:

In the position illustrated in Fig. 1 for a traveller, thecarryingropel is braked and'inthis position, theload-"carrying means are held fast throughengagementblthe catch 22 with the stop 13 on-thecradle in a position-for which the TOHETSn-ZD- on said means are arrangedatthe outer-end of -thecradle-l The traction cable 24 can thus move --downwards wit-h the carrier ring 3t=to engage the load tobe-raisedin order to allow the-latterto-be-secured to-said ring. As

soon :as theload actually securedto the ring 3 I, the load winchdraws in the tractioncable, and the loadysayat treetrunk, is drawn upwardly until the. conic'alweight 39- abuts against the control. ring '2 Brandshifts consequently-the control rodsupwardly-,z. whereby the-catch 221s The connectin rodsare provided* with 4 released and is shifted away from the stop [3 on the cradle I.

Now, as the load cannot be raised any higher and the catch 22 is released, the traction cable 24 draws the whole load-carrying means together with the rollers 20 over the cradle 1 towards the inner position thereof inside the traveller. At the sametime; the carrier catches 29 are urged towards one another at themoment the load carrying means enter inside the traveller, said inward movement of the catches 29 being controlled througl'rthe. lower parts 33 of the carrier members: 4 and15 that are bent into the shape of a hopper. The tips of the carrier catches 29 are thus urgedinto engagement with the underside of the. weight 30- that is thus held fast by said catches. Nowas soon as the load carrying means have been drawn in over the pivoting point for thecradle'l that is over the carrier bolt 9, said cradle rocks into the position illustrated in Fig. 3. Theload carrying'means is held fast by the stop it in its inner terminalposition. On the other hand the cradle l acting through the connecting rods i'i', draws the brakinglever i6 downwardly was to shiftthe brake shoe S away from the carrier rope I. This restores freedom of movement for: the traveller over the carrying rope i along which said traveller may move-with the load-that is-rigidly secured thereto. The winch may now draw upwardly the traveller throughthe traction cable 24 alongthe carrying-rope I together with the load or else it may allow the' traveller and load to-sink towards the loading" station. As soon as the-traveller has reached the leading station, it is possible to release theload from the carrier ring 3 i. During this operation, the load carrier remainsin-its inner ter-- minal position insidethe traveller while the'brakei9-rernains in itsreleased position and the trac-- tion cable 2t may be drawn in again through' the winch and said cable may thus bring thetraveller along'the-ca-rrying rope I into exact vertical registerover the tree'trunk-that is to be transported. I1 order toclamp however the traveller" at such -a point to thecarrying rope; the-traveller should-previously be drawn up the carrying rope '9 through the agency of'thetraction cable'tt teepoint'thatis about ten meters higher than is strictly necessary. At this moment, the'winch is released-and allowed to run backwardlyso that the traction cable 2 5 is unwound and the-traveller runs downwardly over the traction cable-I. As soon as the traveller has run downwardlyagain by about ten meters and is in full movement; the winch is suddenly stopped which brings the traveller also to a sudden stop. This sudden stop-urges the centrifugal weights I 2 and sectors l i carrying them and-consequently also the cradle '1 back into the-position illustrated in Fig; 1. The load carrying means runs over the two cradle plates 8 forming'the cradle I back into their outer'terminal position;

The carrier catchers 29'are urged away from one another as byspring means, not shown; so as to release the weight 30. At the same time, the catch 22 snaps into position'behind the stop l3 on the cradle and holds the load carrying means fast in their outer terminal position with reference to the cradle 1, while the connecting rod l1 urges upwardly the brake lever l6 and therethrough also the cable braking -shoe l9,- whereby the traveller is clamped to the carrying rope I. The load controlling-winch is now allowedito let the traction cable 24 move down- -.wardly with the carrier ring- 3| inorder that a further tree trunk may be secured to the latter for transportation.

The operator of the load controlling winch may be called by telephone so that he may be told of the moments at which he is to allow the winch to unwind and at which he is to stop it or else communication is obtained with him through optic signals. A marking provided on the traction cable allows the operator to be aware of the state of operation.

It is possible to locate the loading station at the upper end of the carrying rope when the tree trunks have to be removed from a lower level inside a gorge in order to bring them onto a road above said gorge.

A ropeway executed in the manner disclosed is of advantage in service inasmuch as it allows a considerable economy in time, labor and expense and provides for the easy transportation of tree trunks out of gorges and isolated valleys, the access towhich is otherwise very difficult. The service of this ropeway is a very simple one and the traveller is of a simple execution and operates in a very reliable manner.

What I claim is:

1. A traveler for transportation of tree trunks and like loads over a sloping high-line comprising, in combination, a frame, means in said frame for travel over the high-line, a cradle pivotally mounted inside said frame to assume two tilted positions facing the lower and the upper nd of the sloping high-line respectively, an auxiliary carriage adapted to run over said cradle, a traction cable for hoisting the load and hauling the traveler, a hoisting block secured to the free end of said traction cable, means on said auxiliary carriage for guiding said traction cable, a brake structure to engage the high-line, lever means operatively connecting said brake structure with the cradle and adapted to provide operativeness and release of said brake structure respectively according to the tilted position assumed by the cradle, means for locking the carriage to the front end of the cradle facing the lower end of the high-line, means whereby the hoisting block when brought by the traction cable into proximity with the carriage releases said locking means, the continuation of the drawingin movement of the traction cable thus causing the carriage and the load suspended therefrom to run over the cradle to tilt said cradle into its rearwardly tilted position and thereby release the brake structure and allow movement of the traveler over the high-line in either desired direction.

2. A traveler of the class described as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cradle carries eccentrically an auxiliary weight adapted to throw said cradle through inertia into either of its extreme tilted positions.

3. A traveler of the class described as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lever means controlling the brake structure include a connecting rod pivotally secured to the rear end of the cradle facing the upper end of the sloping high-line, and a lever pivotally secured to an adjustable point of said connecting rod pivotally carried to a point of the frame and to which the brake structure is pivotally secured.

A traveler of the class described as claimed in claim 1, comprising a stop at the forward end of the cradle, a catch pivotally mounted on the auxiliary carriage and adapted to engage said cradle stop when the cradle is in its forwardly tilted position facing the lower end of the highline, and means secured to said carriage catch and adapted to release said catch through the action of the hoisting block on said means when said hoisting block has been drawn through the traction cable into its uppermost position with reference to the carriage.

5. A traveler of the class described as claimed in claim 1, wherein the auxiliary carriage comprises lateral projections and catches pivotally secured to said projections, said catches lying to either side of the uppermost location of the hoisting block, and means rigid with the cradle to urge said catches into engagement with said hoisting block as soon as the released carriage and the hoisting block begin to move over the cradle upon actuation of the traction cable.

6. A traveler of the class described as claimed in claim 1 comprising an auxiliary weight adapted to throw the cradle through inertia into either its extreme tilted positions, a leverage controlling said weight and including a first lever pivotally secured to the pivotal axis of the cradle, a connecting rod of adjustable length pivotally connected to the outer end of said first lever, and a second lever carrying the weight through one end and pivotally secured through the other end to the free end of said connecting rod and pivotally secured to the cradle body.

EUGEN PILET.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,270,131 Ellis June 18, 1918 1,504,753 Guerin Aug. 12, 1924 1,725,325 Whitlock Aug. 20, 1929 

